A party of English Juniors went out to the Czech Republic to take part in this international event which takes place annually in the town which is in the extreme east of the country. There are categories from 8-14 (FIDE ages) and over 270 players from 10 countries took part. We were the only Western European players. The standard is very high and I only wish I knew of more tournaments like this for our young players. There were nine rounds, two each day except the last. We had a squad of sixteen players 12 U14 and 4 U12. Their results were as follows:-
Under 14
Rafe Martyn 7 2nd
Gawain Jones 6.5 3rd
David Jackson 6 5= 7 on tie break
Michael Healey 5.5 8= 9
Chris Dorrington 5.5 8= 11
Ezra Lutton 5.5 8= 12
Sam Williams 5 14= 15
Chris Jones 5 14= 17
Ashley Ferguson 4.5 21= 25
Jodi Stanger 4 30= 31
Conrad Westmorland 4 30= 34
Daniel Caps 3.5 41= 43
49 Players
Under 12
Thomas Sharp 6 8= 8
Robert Heaton 5.5 11= 14
Simon Fowler 5 21= 22
Matthew Elstrop 4.5 30= 37
67 Players
The U14 was won by Alexandre Kharitonov of Russia. The U12 was won by Strephan Zilka of Czech Republic.
The fourth English Closed Championships took place at Yateley Manor School, Camberley on the weekend of 5\6th February. An excellent turnout, including most of the best players for their age group in the country, saw some close encounters with wins hard to come by.
The U14 tournament started in predictable fashion with wins for the top four seeds and no wins for second half seeds. Round Two saw a clash between Lawrence Trent (Joint U14 Holder) and Chris Dorrington (U12 Holder) which was won by Chris. He was joined on 2 points by Thomas Rendle, Rafe Martyn and Thomas Nixon. Both top games ended as draws and Tim Woodward joined the leading quartet. Sunday morning saw Rafe defeat Thomas Rendle, Thomas Nixon defeat Tim and Chris, floating down, winning a hard fought encounter against Jessie Gilbert. The final round pairings were Chris v Thomas and Rafe floating down to play Lawrence Trent. Chris and Thomas agreed a quick draw but Lawrence, unwilling to concede his title easily, took Rafe to the limit before resigning in the face of an overwhelming attack leaving Rafe as sole winner.
The Under 12 event was less straightforward as two of the top three seeds lost in round one and no player was on full score after round three. James Heppell, Thomas Sharp and Stewart Trent ended the first day on 2.5 points. In round four James drew with Thomas whilst Stewart, floating down, defeated Amir Habibi (joint top seed) in a hard fought encounter. James and Thomas were joined on 3 points by the other joint top seed William Bennet. In the final round Stewart and Thomas agreed a quick draw leaving James and William to fight it out to join Stewart on 4 points. In the last game to finish William was triumphant thus sharing the championship with Stewart.
In the Under 13 event Alan Hawrami and Philip Hayward shared the title whilst in the Under 11 event Anton Chernikov and Peter Roberson shared the honours. All four players qualify for their respective closed events next year.
Many thanks must go to Yateley Manor School for their generous sponsorship which enables such a high class event to be run.
Prize List Under 14 1st Rafe Martyn Brussels 4.5 2= Christopher Dorrington Lincolnshire 4 Thomas Nixon Richmond 4 4th Thomas Rendle Sussex 3.5 Under 12 1= William Bennet Rutland 4 Stewart Trent Essex 4 3= Thomas Eggleston Durham 3.5 Robert Heaton Richmond 3.5 Thomas Sharp Kent 3.5
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | Round 10 | Round 11 | Round 12 | Round 13 | Score | ||
| Adam Hunt | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | |
| Melanie Buckley | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | 6 |
Addendum - Thursday 11.15pm Greek time Pairings for round 10 have just been announced. Melanie plays Henriques (Portugal) 2019. Adam has an upfloat to play Haznedaroglu (Turkey) 2178!!
European Junior Round 9 - ThursdayMelanie drew with Black against Kucypera (Pol) 2218 and is now on 4.5/9. Adam, going for an IM norm, lost to Doettling (Ger) 2475 and remains on 5 points.
The possibility of a Performance Norm for Adam over 10 rounds is unclear. The calculations are further complicated as the pairings for round 11 will not be announced until very late as the organisers have decided that the FIDE entry fees of 200 Swiss Francs for all additional players must be paid before they make the pairings. There is strong possibility that some players will not be paired.
European Junior - Round 8 - Wednesday . In round 8 Melanie drew with Makka (Gre) 2099 to be on 4/8. Adam returned to his winning ways by beating Petrik (Slo) 2296 and has now reached 5/8.
European Junior - Round 7 - Tuesday 12th October Mixed fortunes today for the two England players. Adam suffered his first loss to Josep Manuel Lopez Martinez (Spain) 2378 to be on 4/7. Melanie beat Shabanaj (Albania) to reach 3/7. Tomorrow they both have 'tight' games, Adam who is 27th seed plays the 24th seed and Melanie, 24th seed, plays the 22nd seed.
European Junior U20 - Round 6 - Sunday 10th Oct Melanie drew with Nill (Ger) to be on 2.5/6 Adam had the White pieces against the current World U18 Champion, De Vreugt (Hol). He remains unbeaten, just 1/2 point off the lead, with 4/6 after a 'heartbreaking' draw - Adam missed a move which which would have brought about a straightforward win. Tomorrow is a rest day. Coach Matthew Turner IM reports, "The rest-day has come at the right time. It gives the Team an opportunity to re-charge their batteries".
European Junior U20 - Round 4 - Friday 8th Adam remains unbeaten on 3/4 after drawing with Stryjecki IM (Pol) 2448. Two players share the lead on 3.5/4. Melanie beat Matosevic (BIH) to be on 2/4. Tomorrow (Saturday 9th) the England pair are both drawn against French opponents. Adam plays Sontaine, 2408 and Melanie is matched against Dacalor.
European U20 - Round 3 Melanie secured a solid draw with the Black pieces against Hasurdzic (BIH). Adam continues in his winning way after defeating Johannessen (NOR) 2356. He now lies in joint 2nd place on 2.5/3 .
The play and accommodation are all within the same hotel complex which is a great help as the pairings for the following day are available during the evening.
European Girls Under 20 There are 40 participants competing. After drawing with the 6th seed in the first round, Melanie played Polovnikova (Rus) 2299 the 4th seed in the second round. Unfortunately, in time trouble to the first time control, a good position deteriorated and the game was eventually lost.
European Junior Under 20 There are 50 participants competing. In the first round only 2 of the top 6 seeds recorded a win. After a fine draw against the 4th seed in round 1, Adam was paired against 2nd seed, IM Blehm (Pol) 2479, in round 2. Great news, Adam WON!! in what has been described as 'convincing style'.
The BCF Saitek England Team are represented by Melanie Buckley
and Adam Hunt. International Master Matthew Turner is acting as
Manager/Coach. The accommodation is in a huge hotel which boasts three
swimming pools.
Round 1 Melanie Buckley (Black) 1/2 1/2 Tkeshelashvili (Geo) 2284
TKeshelashvili is 6th seed and came equal first at the European Youth
Championships.
Adam Hunt (Black) 1/2 1/2 Bagirov (Aze) 2471 4th seed and son of a famous
GM father.
Both the England players were a pawn up in the end game but were not able
to convert the advantage into a winning position.
The official site is http://euro99.chess.gr
| Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 | Round 8 | Round 9 | Score | ||
| U18 Girls Melanie Buckley | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 5½ (7th=) | |
| U16 Rosalind Keiran | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | 5½ (11th=) | |
| U14 Aly Wilson | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ½ | 3½ (42nd=) | |
| U12 Jessie Gilbert | ½ | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 5 (18th=) | |
| U10 Yasmin Ball | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 (39th=) | |
| U18 Boys Stewart Haslinger | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 5 (19th=) | |
| U16 Matthew Broomfield | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | 5 (23rd=) | |
| U14 Thomas Rendle | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 0 | 4 (46th=) | |
| U12 Gawain Jones | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | 6 (7th=) | |
| U10 David Howell | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5½ (11th=) |
I acted as organiser and Manger for the BCF Saitek England Junior Team at the European Youth Championships. Over 40 Countries participated, thanks to Saitek sponsorship we were one of only a few Federations to have a boy and girl representative in every age group. The sponsorship also helped to fund the cost of two professional coaches to prepare and accompany the Team.
There was a tremendous spirit in the Team, I was proud to be associated with each and everyone of the players, they were excellent ambassadors for their Country and gave 100% effort at all times. Thanks to coaches Gary Lane and Nigel Davies who worked long hours in order to give the whole Team whatever support they required, also a big THANKS to the accompanying adults who assisted me in ensuring that our players had the best of everything available. I also wish to put on record my thanks to the 'older' players for their support and encouragement of the youger members of the Team.
The final scores and finishing places available to me are :-
U18 Boys 1st= Teimour RADJABOV Aze, Evgeny POSNY Isr, Alexander KUNDIN Isr - 7/9 Stewart HASLINGER Eng 5/9, 19= (64 players)
U18 Girls 1st= Dana REIZNIECE WIM Lat, Nadezhda KOSINTSEVA WFM Rus, Lela JAVAKHISHVILI Geo - 7/9 Melanie BUCKLEY Eng 5.5/9, 7= (42 players)
U16 Boys 1st= Sergey GRIGORIANTS Rus, Krzysztof JAKUBOWSKI FM Pol 7/9 Matthew BROOMFIELD Eng 5/9, 23= (71 players)
U16 Girls 1st= Ana MATNADZE WFM Geo, Ekaterina KORBOUT Rus, Inga CHARKHALASHVILI Geo - 7/9 Rosalind KIERAN Eng 5.5/9, 11= (64 players)
U14 Boys 1st Nidjat MAMEDOV Aze, 7.5/9 Thomas RENDLE Eng 4/9, 46= (75 players)
U14 Girls 1st= Marie SEBAG Fra, Tamara CHISTIAKOVA Rus, 7/9 Aly WILSON 3.5/9 (58 players)
U12 Boys 1st Borki PREDOJEVIC Yug, 7.5/9 2nd= Daniel STELLWAGEN Ned, Gabor PAPP Hun, 7/9 Gawain JONES Eng, 6/9 7= (71 players)
U12 Girls 1st= Nana DZAGNIDZE Geo, Varvara KIRILLOVA Rus, Tatev ABRAMIAN Arm 7.5/9 Jessie GILBERT Eng, 18= (66 players)
U10 Boys 1st Sergiy KORYAKIN Ukr 8/9 2nd= Maxim RODSHTEIN Isr, Davit JOJUA Geo, 7.5/9 David HOWELL Eng, 5.5/9 11= (68 players)
U10 Girls 1st= Raluca SGARCEA Rom, Anna MUZYCHUK Ukr 8/9 Yasmin BALL Eng, 3/9 (46 players)
Thanks to everybody for their help,
Peter Turner
Gawain Jones was playing for the Bronze medal position, but lost his last game after 5hrs of play and finished 7th David was also playing for third place, but lost after five and a half hours to finish in 11th.
A disappointing finish, but when you remember David has another year in the U10's then you have got to be hopeful for future medal successes.
In the boys Under 12's Predojevic (Yug) leads with 7/8. The chasing pack of four players a point behind includes Gawain Jones. Therefore, a win today from him would guarantee him at least equal second.
In the boys Under 10's David Howell lies 6th. However, he has got a very tough pairing, having a full point upfloat in the final round. A win would guarantee him at least fourth place. However, the prospects of a medal are pretty slim because David has a weak tie-breaker.
Gawain Jones earned another great result to draw with the second seed Arman Pashikian of Armenia rated 2260 with the Black pieces. Tomorrow will be the crucial game for Gawain as he has to push for a win with the White pieces.
Gawain Jones is on fire for the Saitek English team at the European Youth Championship. Round 6 saw him sacrifice a piece to force mate against Vicol rated 2010. This moves Gawain onto 5/6 with a share of first place.
Rosalind Kieran has also moved into the top ten and looks in contention for a medal if she can keep her winning sequence going. Round seven will be crucial for her chances.
Round 5 saw another good performance from the Saitek English Team, with them again recording 7/10. Gawain Jones won again to move onto 4/5 and into 4th place.
The European Youth Championships takes place in Litohoro which is 200 miles from Athens. Therefore, the players have not been affected by the Earthquake although some lines of communications are down.
Correction to round 2 report; Gawain's draw with the Romanian was in the world under-10 in Cannes, October 1997, as opposed to the 'Cannes Festival 10 months ago'
Round 4 saw another great performance from the Saitek English Juniors who recorded 7/10.
Melanie Buckley got another fine win to reach 3/4 and move into equal third place in the Girls Under 18's. However, the boys were not to be outdone as Gawain Jones also chalked up 3/4. Gawain seems to be playing particularly well and remains undefeated. The only other undefeated member of the Saitek Squad is Matthew Broomfield who recorded his first win in round 4 after draws in the first three.
Melanie Buckley had a fine victory over the strong Croatian player Grzincic after her preparation came off and she was able to finish her opponent off with a fine tactical sequence.
Jessie Gilbert also scored a very fine result drawing with last year's runner-up in the World U10 Girls.
The venue is excellent and the players have been enjoying the opportunity to take in the sun and swim in the sea. However, the players are not letting this distract them from the Tournament. Round 2 saw a storming performance by the Saitek England Juniors who recorded 6.5/10.
Rosalind Kieran was particularly unfortunate; she had been preparing hard with Gary Lane only to find that the organisers had changed the pairings to mean Rosalind faced a Hungarian WIM without informing the Saitek England Squad.
The star performance came from Gawain Jones who defeated the top Romanian U12 to move onto 1.5/2. The game is a testament to Gawain's recent improvement since he had previously drawn with his opponent at the Cannes International Festival ten months earlier.
Yasmin Ball was unlucky to lose after another four hour game.
There has been some problems at the European Youth with the first round being delayed over 2 and a half hours (the under 18's was delayed a further hour).
It was also a disappointing performance from the Saitek England Juniors. Melanie Buckley and Rosalind Kieran won. Thomas Rendle, Gawain Jones and Jessie Gilbert drew. Stewart Haslinger, Matthew Broomfield, David Howell, Aly Wilson and Yasmin Ball.
Yasmin Ball put in a particularly fine effort only succumbing to the 5th seed in the girls under 10's after 4 hours of play.
The delays to the first round meant some games did not finish until after midnight and everyone is hoping the organisers can get back on track.